Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in saying farewell to our friend. Twenty-five years in politics is quite a commitment. It is also very rare. Twenty-five years of service to our constituents, regardless of the political party we serve and the political ideas we defend, is always an honour for the person who achieves it.
It is with regret that I see him go. I think that every time a member leaves, the entire House of Commons loses a member of its big democratic family.
I know that he has some regret about leaving us because he had hoped to become the dean of the House of Commons. Indeed, he would have been my successor had I left. At one point, he told me that I should not run in the next election because he wanted to be in the chair for the first day of a new Parliament. He wanted me to leave so that he could hold that position. Today, he is the one leaving and I am the one who will run again in the next election. It is the opposite, but I know that he would have made a very good dean of the House.
I wish him all the best in the new municipal career he wants to start in beautiful Toronto. I will close by thanking him for helping democracy grow and develop in the House of Commons with through his actions, suggestions and wonderful speeches.